Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano called for nationwide campus town hall sessions following the Department of Education’s decision to suspend scheduled active shooter simulations.
The deferment of the August 25 exercise came after mental health experts—including the Philippine Psychiatric Association and the Philippine Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry—warned that hyper-realistic emergency scenarios could trigger severe psychological trauma among students.
“They’re saying that preparedness in schools is essential but the methods chosen must be trauma-informed and grounded in evidence,” Cayetano stated.
The lawmaker noted that holding off on the simulations creates an opportunity to foster collaborative discussions across educational institutions.
“Instead of this drill, while it is being studied, [may I recommend] a national day or half day be declared by the Palace or Malacanang or the President, wherein a community town hall (dialogue) be held in every school and get a sense of community going, and a sense of the problems of each school in terms of the emotional, psychological, mental, spiritual well-being of the students,” he suggested.
Cayetano envisioned these town halls as expanded parent-teacher gatherings that unite parents, educators, student leaders, school heads, faith-based leaders, youth advocates, and local commerce representatives.
He emphasized that dialogues should go beyond active shooter scenarios to examine root causes driving youth toward violence or destructive tendencies.
While acknowledging that emergency readiness remains essential, Cayetano cautioned against implementing poorly crafted measures that could unintentionally cause more damage.
“I just like to focus on the reaction. If the reaction is equally ill-planned or equally harmful, we might have a bigger problem after this drill,” the senator warned.